Happily Ever After – Call for Papers

IBBY UK’s annual conference will be held on Saturday 11th November at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, 44 Webber Street, London SE1 8QW.

Save the date! Booking will open at the beginning of September.

The theme is Happily Ever After: The Evolution of Fairy Tales Across Time and Cultures. Our keynote speaker is Professor Vanessa Joosen, University of Antwerp. Other speakers will be announced soon. Our call for papers is now open. See below for details. Closing date for proposals July 31st 2017. Call for papers on the theme of Happily Ever After: The Evolution of Fairy Tales Across Time and Cultures

The same fairy tales often appear across different cultures. How and why does this happen?

Should fairy tales be updated – or even subverted – to appeal to modern audiences?

How have fairy tales evolved as they’ve been retold across the centuries?

The conference will include keynote presentations by writers, publishers and academics. Proposals are welcomed for parallel sessions (lasting about 20 minutes) on any relevant issues from any period in the history of international children’s literature. These might include:

variations in fairy tales across cultures

campfires to apps – how fairy tales have been shared across time

how fairy tales are viewed through a feminist lens

whether fairy tales are inclusive for readers of all backgrounds

the challenges that modern tellers of fairy tales face

how fairy tales can challenge established storytelling tropes

how to make an old story feel new

The deadline for proposals is July 31st 2017. Please email an abstract of approximately 200 words (for a 20-minute paper), along with a short biography and affiliation to Ann Lazim of IBBY UK at annlazim@googlemail.com.

Please note that only six papers can be selected due to the smaller size of this year’s venue.

About IBBY

The International Board on Books for Young People is a unique international alliance of everyone interested in children’s literature: academics, librarians, writers, illustrators, publishers, teachers, literacy workers, booksellers, parents and others.